Getting back home
by amberelisabeth
Summary: Medieval fic. Takeru and Yamato are princes, their parents are the King and Queen; everyone else from season one is a noble. One day the kingdom is attacked and something happens to... you'll just have to read to find out. Although if you've read my other
1. Attack

Disclaimer: Wish I did, but I don't.  
  
A/N: In the beginning the ages correspond with season 1.  
  
Utter chaos. Those were the only words to describe the Ishida Kingdom. Inside the high walls that surrounded the land houses burned and peasants lay dead in the streets. This was the result of an invasion by the Shiasta Kingdom. The Shiastaian people were bloodthirsty warriors with no regard toward treaties or rules of war. It was on a whim that King Priam of Shiasta decided to attack the Ishida Kingdom.  
  
The nobles and royals stayed holed up in the castle waiting out the attack. The highest rule of war was that the nobles and especially the royals were not to be intentionally harmed. However the Shiastaian soldiers did not follow the rules of war.  
  
After several failed attempts the soldiers were able to break through the barriers protecting the castle. They rode their horses through the main halls and chambers harming many, but killing none. It almost seemed, to the people of Ishida, that they actually had a goal.  
  
Once the soldiers had searched the main level of the castle the captain gathered them in the center of the courtyard.  
  
"The royal family must be hiding elsewhere. We will search this castle until they are found. Do not harm them though, merely separate them. The glorious King Priam wishes to have the young prince Takeru as his personal slave. This will cause the family more pain then we could ever physically inflict. If you secure prince Takeru report to me immediately. Understood?"  
  
A chorus of "Yessirs" was the reply.  
  
"Good," the captain said, "Now move out!"  
  
*  
  
The royal family was huddled together in a small room on the second level of the castle. They knew the Shiastaians did not follow the rules of war and could not risk staying with the nobles. The four sat around a candle as torches would alert the soldiers to their location.  
  
"Mommy I don't like this. It's scary." Takeru said from his position on his mother's lap.  
  
She gave him a reassuring hug. "Don't worry sweetie, they'll leave soon and everything will be back to normal."  
  
This answer seemed to satisfy Takeru as he drifted off to sleep in his mother's lap.  
  
Yamato looked over at his little brother fondly. The two were very close, closer than any other siblings in the Kingdom. Yamato absently fiddled with his necklace as he sat there thinking.  
  
At the last New Years celebration the blacksmith had made special necklaces for each of the royal and noble children. Each necklace had its own unique symbol on it. Yamato's represented friendship, while Takeru's represented hope. The noble symbols were courage, light, love, sincerity, knowledge, and reliability. Each symbol, or crest as the blacksmith called them, seemed to suit its owner perfectly.  
  
Yamato's thoughts were interrupted by a banging on the door.  
  
"We know you're in there!" a voice called, "Come out or we'll come in!"  
  
Nobody moved or made a sound.  
  
"Very well!" the voice called.  
  
There was a sound of wood splitting as the door was broken in. Two soldiers rode in, still on their horses. They rode through the middle separating Yamato and the King from Takeru and the Queen. The Queen grabbed Takeru and ran out of the room.  
  
One of the horsemen beckoned to the other. "Go." he said.  
  
The other horseman nodded and rode out after them. The King and Yamato were trapped between the soldier and the wall so they were helpless.  
  
The Queen, carrying Takeru, ran into the child's room that he and Yamato shared. She did not have the opportunity to shut the door as the horseman was right behind her. She backed against the wall clutching Takeru protectively.  
  
"What do you want?" she asked, trying to sound braver than she felt.  
  
The soldier just smirked and maneuvered his horse so that he was right next to them. He suddenly reached out and attempted to grab Takeru away. The Queen held him tighter and tried to pull back. However the soldier was stronger and with one great heave he pulled Takeru out of his mother's arms and held him on the horse.  
  
"MOMMA! MOMMA!" Takeru cried as he struggled to get free.  
  
"TAKERU!" the Queen made a desperate attempt to get her son, but the soldier slapped her hard and sent her to the ground.  
  
"Say bye-bye to mommy Takeru," the soldier sneered before riding out to report to the captain.  
  
The Queen curled into a ball and cried tears of despair as her youngest sons cries of "MOMMA!" rang in her head.  
  
*  
  
Back in the room the King and Yamato were clueless as to what was happening. 15 minutes after they were found another horseman rode by.  
  
"We're leaving."  
  
The other horseman nodded and left, but not before sneering at the two members of the royal family.  
  
The King turned to Yamato. "We have to find your mother and brother."  
  
Yamato nodded and followed his father. After 10 minutes and searching and calling they heard crying coming from the children's room.  
  
The King rushed to his wife's side. "My Queen! What is wrong!"  
  
The Queen replied through her sobs. "My baby! They took my poor baby!"  
  
Yamato and the King looked around suddenly and noticed for the first time that Takeru was not anywhere in the room.  
  
"No," Yamato whispered grief-stricken, "Takeru." 


	2. A new life and peace meetings

Disclaimer: is it really necessary for me to admit, in every single chapter of every story, that I DO NOT own Digimon?  
  
~3 years later~  
  
"Slave! Get over here now!" a voice bellowed.  
  
The 11-year-old blonde slave hurried over, head down, and kneeled in front of his master.  
  
"You insolent little bastard!" King Priam yelled, backhanding the boy and sending him to the floor. "My son tells me that you, a worthless slave, have dared to speak back to him."  
  
Takeru didn't reply. He knew that it wasn't true, but he also knew that denying it would make the punishment much worse.  
  
"You may have been a prince once," the king continued, "But that was a long time ago. You are a worthless slave now, lower than dirt, so you had better start acting like it! Guard!" he called, "Take this slave and remind him of his place."  
  
"Yessir," the guard answered before roughly dragging Takeru out to the stables. He removed the boy's shirt and began using a cat-o'-nine tails on his bare back.  
  
Takeru bit his lip; he had learned early on that crying out resulted in more beatings. King Priam was neither a nice, nor a fair man. That much was clear to Takeru his first day there.  
  
~flashback~  
  
TK had been riding with the horseman for many hours and had given up struggling long before. Even if he could have gotten free, he would have been completely lost.  
  
In the distance he saw the Kingdom of Shiasta.  
  
"Get a good look kid. This is probably the last place you'll ever see." the soldier sneered as the rode to the center of the city.  
  
When they reached the castle the soldier got off the horse and pulled Takeru down with him. He dragged Takeru into a large chamber. A fierce looking man sat in a throne at the far end of the room. A boy Takeru's age stood next to him.  
  
When they were in front of the throne the soldier pushed Takeru down before kneeling down himself.  
  
"Here he is, majesty."  
  
"Very good. You're dismissed."  
  
The soldier nodded, got up, and left.  
  
The King spoke again. "Well little Takeru, we finally meet. I can tell that once we break your spirit you'll be the perfect slave.  
  
"No! My daddy will come get me and you'll be sorry!"  
  
The King backhanded Takeru. "Never speak to your master that way!" he bellowed, "Your pathetic excuse for a father could never stand against me. Face it, you now belong to me."  
  
"You're lying," Takeru snapped, "And you're NOT my master!"  
  
The King looked down at Takeru and sneered. "If you want to live you'll do well to remember the basics. First, never ever look at your master, or anyone else with a higher rank than you. Second, never speak unless commanded to. Third, you will always end your sentences with the proper addressment, be it sir, madam, miss, or majesty. Do you understand?"  
  
Takeru said nothing, but he defiantly stared the King in the face.  
  
King Priam smirked. "You may be stubborn, but even you can only last so long." He clapped his hands and a guard appeared behind Takeru.  
  
"Yessir?"  
  
"Take young Takeru and teach him what it means to be a slave."  
  
"Yessir." the guard dragged Takeru out to the stables and gave him his first whipping.  
  
~end flashback~  
  
As Takeru was recalling his first day the guard was whipping him with extreme ferocity. Suddenly, he stopped. Takeru did not relax though, because he knew the worst was yet to come.  
  
The guard left but returned shortly with a bucket. He did not need to look to know that the bucket was filled with salty seawater. Takeru hissed as the water was poured onto his fresh wounds. It felt like it was eating away at his skin, but he knew better than to express his pain.  
  
Once this was finished Takeru was allowed to put his shirt back on before being taken to another building. It wasn't really a building per say, as it only consisted of 3 walls with several 4-foot dividers inside. In the back of each makeshift room was a pair of manacles attached to the wall about halfway up by short chains.  
  
This was where the "difficult" slaves spent their nights. Takeru knelt down and allowed himself to be secured by these manacles. Takeru had spent almost every night for the first year and a half chained up; and he had the scars on his wrists to prove it. After that he had given up fighting as much and now, three years after being taken, he was almost a perfectly obedient slave.  
  
However, thanks mainly to Prince Johan, Takeru still spent many nights chained up. The prince had inherited his father's cruelness and had taken an immediate dislike to Takeru. He used every possible opportunity to get him punished.  
  
Even after all that he had been put through, Takeru still couldn't find it in his heart to hate any of the Shiastaian people. At night, when he was alone, he would often wonder why that was. He did not know. He had every reason, and then some, to hate these people; but he just couldn't. As he thought about this he fell into a light troubled sleep.  
  
Takeru was woken up in the morning by a guard coming to fetch him. He was surprised because he was usually left chained until at least midday. He was not sure if the guard getting him early was a good or a bad thing.  
  
When the manacles were unlocked Takeru stood up stiffly, wincing as some of his wounds from the previous night reopened. He followed the guard into the castle keeping his head down the entire time, as he was expected to do.  
  
He was led to a small room inside which the king sat. Takeru immediately dropped into a kneeling position.  
  
"I trust you have learned your lesson slave?" the King asked cruelly. "For you sake you had better have. Now ready the carriage. We are going on a peace mission to the Ishida Kingdom."  
  
Takeru started at the name of his homeland, but did not hesitate; hesitation meant whippings. "Yessir." he replied quietly.  
  
"Oh, and make sure you wear your crest on top of your shirt." the king sneered. "I want to make sure that they recognize you."  
  
Takeru nodded sadly before going to ready the carriage. The only item he was able to keep from his old life was his crest. It was King Priam's cruel way of reminding him of what he used to be, compared to what he was now.  
  
6 hours of painful walking later, the Ishida Kingdom was in Takeru's sight. He noticed that they had rebuilt what was destroyed and the Kingdom looked more beautiful than ever. He wondered how his family was and how they had changed.  
  
His thoughts were interrupted by a hard whip on his shoulder.  
  
"Head down slave!" the soldier snapped.  
  
Takeru noticed that he had unconsciously raised his head to get a better look at the city. He quickly looked back down as they continued their trek.  
  
When they entered the city, Takeru noticed that all of the people were staying in their houses and just looking out through their windows. He couldn't blame them, after all many had lost family and/or friends the last time the Shiastaians had come.  
  
When he was sure he wasn't being watched Takeru dared a glance up. He found himself looking into his brother's eyes. 


	3. meetings and deals

Disclaimer: Believe me, if anything changes you'll be the first to know.  
  
"Yamato, be reasonable. We have to welcome the Shiastaians here." the king tried to get his son to understand.  
  
Yamato was enraged to say the least. How could his father expect him to welcome his brother's kidnappers with open arms. "How can you tell me to be reasonable?! Have you already forgotten what they did?!"  
  
"Of course I haven't forgotten," the King snapped, "that's why I invited them here. If these negotiations go well then we will be that much closer to getting Takeru back."  
  
"If that monster hasn't already killed him." Yamato muttered earning a warning glare from his father.  
  
At that moment the Queen entered. "They're here." she announced solemnly.  
  
The King nodded and turned back to Yamato; a stern look on his face. "We must control our feelings and welcome them as old friends, understand?"  
  
"Yes father," Yamato mumbled as he followed his parents, a deep scowl on his face.  
  
As he saw they procession his scowl deepened even more, if that was possible. He was about to disobey his parents and storm back inside, but something, or rather someone, in the procession caught his eye. Walking next to the carriage was a young blonde boy.  
  
Yamato's eyes widened. 'Could it be Takeru?!' he thought, 'No, this boy carries himself as a slave would.'  
  
Suddenly, yet cautiously, the boy glanced up. He happened to lock gazes with Yamato.  
  
Yamato gasped. Only one person in the world could have bright blue eyes that matched his own.  
  
The boy's eyes widened and he quickly averted his gaze back to the ground.  
  
The procession reached the castle and the royal family was led inside. Takeru took the horses to the stable and began to cool them down, but his mind was on something else. 'Yamato sure has grown up since I last saw him. He looked so sad. I wonder if he recognized me? I don't know if I want him to or not.' He had just finished with the horses when a young slave girl came up and gave him a note. He thanked her and opened it.  
  
Takeru,  
  
Meet me in our old room at midnight.  
  
Yamato.  
  
Takeru was not sure how to feel. On the one hand he was grateful for the chance to see his brother. On the other hand, Yamato was a prince, and Takeru wasn't. At least not anymore; now he was just a worthless slave. Things would never be the same between them. Takeru sighed and went back to work as he waited for, and somewhat dreaded, the coming of midnight.  
  
*  
  
Yamato walked nervously down the hall. He heard the church bells ring 12 times in the night. He was almost positive that the boy was Takeru, but this would be the final test. Only Takeru would know where their old room was.  
  
Yamato arrived in front of the room. He took a deep breath and opened the door.  
  
*  
  
Takeru stood looking out the window, waiting for Yamato. He didn't like this room at all, it held too many memories; both good and bad. He heard the door open and he turned around.  
  
There was his brother who he hadn't seen in 3 years. He looked at him for a few seconds before remembering his place. He averted his eyes and started to reflexively drop into a kneeling position.  
  
Yamato must have seen this coming because he caught Takeru and held him up.  
  
"Takeru?" Yamato asked tentatively.  
  
"Yessir," he replied quietly, still looking at the ground.  
  
Yamato's eyes widened. 'Yessir?! Why is he acting like this? I'm his brother for crying out loud.'  
  
"Takeru, why won't you look at me?" he asked quietly.  
  
"I'm not allowed to, sir."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I'm not allowed to look anyone in the eyes sir. It's a rule."  
  
Yamato gaped. 'King Priam did this . He'll be sorry he ever crossed the Ishida family!' However Yamato controlled his anger as he had more important things to take care of at the moment.  
  
He lifted Takeru's chin, but the boy still averted his eyes.  
  
"Takeru, look at me. That's NOT a request." Yamato said firmly.  
  
Slowly Takeru turned to look his brother in the eyes. It felt odd to be treated as an equal.  
  
Yamato was even more shocked as he looked into his little brother's eyes. Like when they were younger, Yamato could read all of Takeru's emotions and feelings by looking into his eyes. Now Yamato saw great pain, fear, suffering, sadness, and...a glimmer of something else. Determination, maybe. Or maybe Takeru still had a little bit of hope left.  
  
Yamato pulled Takeru into a fierce hug, wishing he could do more. Takeru stiffened as his back still hurt, but then he managed to relax and hug back. It no longer felt odd, it just felt...right.  
  
"Do you have any idea how much I've missed you?" Yamato whispered to his brother.  
  
"Not as much as I've missed you." Takeru whispered back, tightening his grip on his brother.  
  
"Don't worry Takeru, we'll get you back and everything will be fine."  
  
"I know, I trust you."  
  
Yamato pulled back and looked Takeru over. "You certainly have grown up." he said, placing a hand on Takeru's shoulder.  
  
Takeru winced without meaning to.  
  
Yamato's face got serious. "What's wrong?" he demanded.  
  
Takeru looked down. "It's nothing, really."  
  
Yamato walked behind Takeru and pulled up the boy's shirt to look at his back. He gasped at what he saw. His eyes hardened and an angry flame burned in them.  
  
Takeru pulled away. "It's okay Yamato. It doesn't really matter now."  
  
"OF COURSE IT MATTERS!" Yamato yelled, now shaking with anger. "HOW COULD THAT BASTARD DO THIS TO YOU?! THERE'S GOING TO BE HELL TO PAY!"  
  
"Yamato, please calm down." Takeru pleaded, "It's fine, I'm fine."  
  
"No Takeru, you're not." Yamato said quietly. "You shouldn't have had to go through that."  
  
Takeru gave his big brother another hug. "But everything's going to be okay now. You said so yourself."  
  
Yamato sighed. "I know, it's just, when I think about what you must have had to go through, I just want to tear that monster limb from limb."  
  
"I understand." Takeru glanced outside. "I have to go now Yamato. Sometimes he has the guards do random head counts. If I'm not there I'll get in serious trouble."  
  
Yamato nodded before giving his brother another hug, being careful not to hurt his back. "Take care of yourself squirt." he said quietly before reluctantly releasing Takeru and watching him walk out of the room.  
  
"Don't you worry little brother," he said out loud to himself. "I'll be damned if I let him take you away again."  
  
*  
  
Takeru woke up the next morning painfully sore. He had been caught coming back and had been whipped. He felt that it was worth it though. 'And it probably won't happen again,' he thought happily, 'Yamato promised he would get me back, and he's never broken a promise to me yet.'  
  
*  
  
Yamato walked into the guest wing. He wanted to talk to this King Priam personally. He knocked on the door loudly and demanded to be let in.  
  
Priam did not look amused. "Do you always treat your guests this rudely?"  
  
"Only when they've hurt my brother." Yamato spat back.  
  
"Is this what that is about? That worthless little slave?"  
  
Yamato shot up. "He is no slave! He is a prince you bastard!"  
  
"I see my plan worked." the king smirked.  
  
"What plan?" Yamato demanded.  
  
"I believed that taking poor little Takeru and training him as my slave would cause your family more pain than I could ever physically inflict. Judging from your reaction, I was right."  
  
"You've had your fun." Yamato said, his voice dangerously low, "Now. Give. My. Brother. Back." he made each word sound like its own sentence.  
  
"Why would I do that when I could just keep him? It took me one and a half years to break him, but now he's a good reliable slave. Why should I give him up?"  
  
"Because if you don't I will personally make sure that you die a slow painful death."  
  
"Am I supposed to be scared?" Priam looked amused. "However I admire your love for your brother and am willing to make a deal."  
  
"What deal?"  
  
"Buy him from me. 300 gold coins. Not a bad price for such a good slave."  
  
Yamato thought about it. He had access to the royal treasury, and 300 gold coins was a tiny amount compared to what wealth they had. "Fine. 300 gold coins."  
  
"Good. Bring the money out to the guard at the stable at 5 tonight; no earlier, no later. He will give you your brother back. Oh, and I hope you don't mind damaged goods." he sneered as he pushed past Yamato and walked out of the room.  
  
*  
  
At exactly five that evening Yamato crossed the grounds to the stables with the money. He was concerned by what Priam meant when he had said "damaged goods." He saw the guard in front of the main door.  
  
"Here." he said giving the guard the bag of money. "300 gold coins. Now where is Takeru?"  
  
The guard opened the bag to make sure that it was really filled with coins. Once satisfied he led Yamato to the back stall.  
  
"He's in there."  
  
Yamato walked in and saw Takeru slumped over in a corner.  
  
"Takeru? Hey Takeru, come on. You can come home now." he knelt down and gently shook his shoulder.  
  
Takeru didn't move.  
  
"Takeru?" Yamato put an arm behind Takeru's back to help support him, but pulled it back immediately. His arm was covered in a red sticky liquid.  
  
"Takeru!" he adjusted the boy so he could see his back. There were many cuts all over his torso, but especially his back. He noticed tiny white specks caught in some of the cuts. Upon closer inspection he saw that they were salt. 'That BASTARD! It's not enough that he had Takeru whipped, but to have SALTWATER poured on the wounds!'  
  
Yamato was trying to see if there were any other wounds when Takeru whimpered in pain. Yamato abruptly ceased what he was doing, to avoid causing Takeru any more discomfort. He knew that Takeru needed to see the physician, but if Yamato carried him it would be a very painful experience. He also knew that he couldn't leave him here and fetch the physician, no telling what might happen. He resolved that he had no choice but to carry Takeru.  
  
"I'm sorry little brother," he said quietly when Takeru whimpered again while being picked up. "I'm doing this to help you."  
  
He made his way to the physician quickly but carefully. He tried not to jostle Takeru while he walked. Whenever Takeru was accidentally jostled he cried out in pain. It broke Yamato's heart, and enraged him at the same time, that Takeru could feel that much pain even while unconscious. The two made it to the physician's house in record time.  
  
The physician told Yamato to clean up at the well just outside while he looked Takeru over. Yamato had been so worried that he hadn't even noticed that the front of his shirt was covered with blood. A few minutes later the physician called Yamato in.  
  
"I will need your help to clean out the wounds." he said. "My apprentice is too far away to fetch. You will need to support your brother while I clean his injuries. Can you do that?"  
  
Yamato nodded and followed the physician into the back room. Takeru's shirt had been removed and Yamato could see the full extent of his injuries. The sight made Yamato's blood boil, but he calmed down and sat by Takeru.  
  
"I need you to hold him in a seated position while I wash the salt out of the wounds. I should warn you that this will be a very painful experience for him, but nothing compared to what must be done later."  
  
Yamato was curious as to what he meant, but complied. He leaned Takeru against him, and the boy's head rested on his shoulder. When the physician started scrubbing the wounds Takeru cried out even though he was still unconscious. Yamato whispered some comforting words to him as the scrubbing continued. After ten heart wrenching minutes Yamato saw the physician stop.  
  
"Now I have to put the dressing on to prevent more infection and to heal what already is infected. This will be much worse than the scrubbing and will probably shock him into consciousness. Are you ready?"  
  
Yamato nodded and readjusted his brother. As soon as the physician applied the dressing Takeru's eyes shot open and he cried out louder than before.  
  
Yamato comforted him. "It's okay Takeru, you'll be done soon. Big brother will be here until it's all over. And when it is done I'll take you home and you can sleep in your own bed. Priam won't hurt you anymore."  
  
These words had a calming effect and Takeru rested his head back on Yamato's shoulder. He still whimpered while the dressing was applied, but having Yamato there made it bearable. A few minutes later, though it felt like hours to both Takeru and Yamato, the physician stopped applying the dressing and began putting bandages on the wounds. When he was done Takeru had lapsed into unconsciousness again.  
  
Yamato stood up, Takeru in his arms. "I can't thank you enough."  
  
"I was glad to help. He now needs sleep, and lots of it. I will come to the castle and check on him in two days."  
  
Yamato bowed his head, "Thank you." he then took Takeru back to the castle, back to his home.  
  
*  
  
Takeru slept for the next week, waking for five or ten minute increments one or two times a day. Yamato had a bed set up for him in Takeru's room temporarily, as he could not be persuaded to leave his brother's side.  
  
On the eighth day Yamato awoke to find Takeru sitting up wide-awake.  
  
"You shouldn't be sitting up yet," he reprimanded gently, "You might break open your wounds."  
  
"Sorry si--, sorry." Now that Takeru was home, he was treated like an equal again. However three years of having 'rules' beaten into you still had an effect and Takeru often found himself looking at the floor or ending his sentences with "sir" or "madam."  
  
"No problem, I understand. It must be incredibly boring to have to lie down all day."  
  
Takeru nodded. "It is. But I have you to keep me company."  
  
"True. So what should we do, now that you're finally awake?"  
  
Takeru looked thoughtful. "Why don't you tell me what I've missed while I've been gone? I noticed that parts of the city were rebuilt, but I didn't get a good look. And what about our friends? How are they?"  
  
"One question at a time squirt. I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to answer them all."  
  
For the next few days Takeru had to stay in bed, but Yamato stayed right there with him. The bond between them was stronger than it had ever been and maybe, just maybe, Takeru being taken had a positive side. Either way, this is one fantasy tale with a very happy ending.  
  
A/N: Sorry about the crappy ending. My muse decided to take a vacation. Glares at spot where muse should be. 


End file.
